Page:Tomlinson--The rider of the black horse.djvu/368



the room, which was dimly lighted by a candle, Robert could see the three men who had pursued him. They were seated about a table, and the words of their conversation could be distinctly heard by him as he stood by the open window. Not one of the men had he ever seen before that day, he was convinced, but their words for the moment speedily banished even the thought of his own suffering and peril from his mind.

"Russell was right," one of them was saying.

"Yes, he was right enough; but what 'll he have to say for us now, I'd like to know?" responded another.

"We did our best. I can't see for the life of me what became of the fellow."

"What's become of the dog?" said one who had been silent. "That's so!" replied the first speaker, "I'd forgotten the dog."

Stepping to the door, the man flung it